Warning for AirBnB hosts in the UK

Renting out your home through AirBnB could be in breach of your mortgage or lease agreement.

Many mortgages do not allow you to sublet your home without your lenders consent.

If you are are a leaseholder, you might also be in breach of your lease.

The risks were highlighted in the Nemcova v Fairfield Rents Ltd Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), which found an AirBnB host to be in breach of her lease.

House Saver's advice - The law is still catching up with the sharing economy so take precautions.  Let your mortgage lender know if you are intending to rent out your home through AirBnB.  If you are a leaseholder, also make sure that check the terms of your lease.

David
House-Saver

Clarification for London Homeowners on Renting your Home through Airbnb

To keep on the right side of planning laws in London, as of this month Airbnb is automatically limiting "entire homes listings" in Greater London to 90 nights a year.

The change only applies to London.  The change will not affect those who let spare rooms in their home or who let their entire home for fewer than 90 days in a year.

Even with these restrictions, renting your London home through Airbnb continues to be highly lucrative. According to the real estate valuation firm Propcision, rents for Airbnb properties in London are on average more than double the rents paid on longer term tenancies.

David
House-Saver

The growing pains of the sharing economy

The sharing economy has the potential to deliver great benefits to communities.

But it will only become mainstream if regulators give it a chance according to bosses at AirBnB and Uber who both delivered TED talks this week.

Forbes gives the lowdown on the latest TED talks on the The Sharing Economy / Giving Economy.

David
www.house-saver.co.uk

Repeal of 1973 legislation enables Londoners to rent out their homes on a short-term basis

Until last week, under a law dating back to 1973*, any Londoner who wanted to rent out their home for a few days had to apply for planning permission, or else face a fine of up to £20,000 for each ‘offence’.

The Deregulation Act 2015 repeals this legislation.  Londoners can now take advantage of websites allowing short-term rents without fear that they are committing an offence.

About time too!  1973 was the year that the UK entered the European Economic Community, the Vietnam War ended and the Watergate scandal erupted.  Much has happened over the 42 years since.

London residents can now participate in the sharing economy, and enjoy the same freedom and flexibility as the rest of the country to let their homes on a temporary basis.

Whilst red tape continues to hold back the sharing economy at least we are moving in the right direction.

David
House-saver

*The restrictions on short-term lets were contained within Section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973 

Need help finding a reliable solar panels installer?

We have long sung the praises of installing solar panels on your home. However, whilst there are many excellent installers out there, there are also a few that are underwhelming.

At last, help is on hand for UK residents seeking a reliable Solar PV installer?  Check out the latest YouGen blog post, which will help you sort the wheat from the chaff.

Now all we need is for spring to arrive to get those panels working properly.

David
House-saver

8 advice nuggets on growing your home business

Are you daunted by the raft of regulations impacting on your business?  Do you feel intimidated at the prospect of pitching your product to a large corporation?  Do you need to raise finance but your bank has turned you down for a business loan?

We take you through a website that offers you the support to tackle the above issues, and more.

The Government's Business is Great Britain website aims to provide:

"Support, advice and inspiration for growing your business".

We are happy to report that the website succeeds in this aim.  We direct you to the best nuggets of advice contained in the website.

1.  Marketing to make your business grow
Do you need support with your marketing?  Find out about the wide variety of resources that can help you market your business at Marketing to make your business grow.


2.  Financing business growth
Have you been turned down for a business loan?  A bank loan is not the only way that you can raise money to fund your business. Learn more about the range of ways to raise funding at Financing business growth.


3.  Winning business from large corporations
Do you feel intimidated at the prospect of pitching your product to a large corporation?  Winning business from large corporations helps you take advantage of the opportunities of working with large companies, and allows you to search for opportunities through a Business Exchange.


4.  Dealing with late payments
Do you know your rights when your customer is not paying up in time?  If a customer is late in paying for goods or services you have provided, learn how you can claim interest and debt recovery costs at Dealing with late payments.


5.  Tax relief and incentives
Are you aware of the potential tax perks available to your business? If your business meets certain criteria, it may qualify for help with business rates or tax relief for research and development.  Find out more at Tax relief and incentives.


6.  Intellectual Property Rights
Have you a great business idea that you want to protect?  Learn more about copyright, designs, patents and trademarks at Intellectual Property Rights.


7.  Complying with Regulations
Do you feel daunted by the raft of regulations impacting on your business? Find out whether you need a licence for your business activity and check which regulations may apply to your product or service at Complying with Regulations.


8.  Help with creating faster Broadband connection
Is your sluggish broadband speed slowing your business down?  Get a broadband Connection Voucher up to the value of £3,000 to help cover your upfront connection costs for faster, better broadband at Help with creating faster Broadband connection.


The House-Saver Verdict on Business is Great Britain 
This is a great website.  The site provides up-to-date, practical advice for businesses, and is brimming with inspirational case studies. This is a website that warrants bookmarking by any small business owner.


David
www.house-saver.co.uk

Can I quit my day job but maintain my current living standards? PART 4

How rural home owners can make money from their house
In PART 1 I explained how the internet is allowing us to exploit the money making power of our homes. In PART 2 and PART 3 I presented the opportunities that are available to owners of city centre and surburban homes.

In this final installment I will be doing the same for rural homes.

The opportunities
I have separated the moneymaking opportunities into "Easy wins" and "Not so easy wins".  The easy wins are more straight-forward to implement, whereas the not so easy wins may require some sacrifice or greater effort on your part.

Easy wins

Make money from your outdoor space
Websites such as www.storemates.co.uk enable you to rent outdoor spaces for large items such as boats or caravans.

Expect to generate at least £750 a year for renting out land at your property.

INCOME = £750

Rent your shed, your garage or a spare room for storage space
Specialist websites such as www.sharemystorage.com will help you rent out extra space in your home for storage.  Such spaces can include your roof-space, a spare room, a shed or a garage.  The space has to be dry, secure and accessible.

The earning potential of your storage space is based on the size of the space.  Expect to earn around £100 a month (£1,200 a year) from renting out a garage or large shed.    You could earn in excess of £200 a month (£2,400 a year) if you are renting out a large garage.

For the purpose of this post I am using the lower of the two figures.

INCOME POTENTIAL = £1,200

Reduce your water bills by fitting a water meter
Most of us spend too much on our water bills.  Even larger households can benefit by fitting a water meter. By installing water saving measures such as water butts and water-efficient shower heads, you can greatly reduce your water consumption.

Note: Find out how much your household could actually save at www.ccwater.org.uk

SAVING POTENTIAL = £100

Reduce you Heating Bills
UK homes can be draughty which increases our reliance on central heating to stay warm at home. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the average household spends £23.20 each week on electricity, gas and other fuels.

Bulking up on your insulation is the best way to make your home less draughty.  This will in turn help you save on your energy bills. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that householders could save £310 a year on energy bills by topping up on their loft insulation and by installing cavity wall insulation.

You may be able to access Government grants to meet the costs of your insulation upgrades.  Check out the Energy Saving Trust website for further information on the Government support available.

SAVING POTENTIAL = £310

Replace your old boiler
According to The Energy Saving Trust, upgrading an old boiler without controls with a new, top of the range, A-rated, condensing boiler could save households living in a detached house £490 a year.

SAVING POTENTIAL = £490

Generate your own heating or power
Most rural homes do not have no access to mains gas heating.  As a result your heating bills will generally be higher than for urban home owners.  However, the space available at rural homes offers you a range of options to generate your own energy. This could comprise generating your own heating or generating your own electricity (or both).  Take your pick from:

• ground source heating (ground source heat pumps)
• air source heating (air source heat pumps)
• water source heating (water source heat pumps)
• solar panels  (Solar PV and Solar Thermal)
• domestic wind turbines
• hydroelectric systems
• wood burning stoves with back boilers
• micro combined heat and power

Of the above options, wood burning stoves could offer the greatest saving potential for rural home owners. If you have a reliable, local, log, wood chip or wood pellet supplier, or even better, if you have you own wood supply, then a wood burning stove with back boiler could dramatically reduce your energy bills.

The Energy Saving Trust website provides advice on the Government funding support available to help meet the cost your energy generation installation.

The savings on your energy bills from generating your own electricity and / or heating will depend on a number of variables; including your current energy usage, the age of your property and your existing central heating system.  For the purpose of this post I have applied a savings estimate for rural homes of around £500 a year.

SAVING POTENTIAL = £500

Not so easy wins

Starting a B&B or “homtel"
Start your own B&B or the more informal 'homestay' or 'homtel' alternatives.

For the purpose of working out the income potential I have assumed that you will be taking in guests on a part-time basis only.

INCOME POTENTIAL = £750

Grow your own Food
Tending an allotment size plot in your garden, with a variety of vegetables, can produce enough crop to save the typical household around £300 a year on their grocery bill.

Want to take it further?  Keep chickens to provide fresh eggs for breakfast and to reduce your grocery bill by a few more pounds.

Feeling brave?  Consider bee keeping.  Bee keepers can make over £260 per hive per year.  A large garden can accommodate multiple hives.

SAVING / INCOME POTENTIAL = £600

Renting your home for a photo shoot or TV shoot
If you own a house with unique design features and your property is in an accessible location, you may be able to earn money from your home by hosting a TV crew or photo-shoot.  You can register your home through specialist websites such as www.location25.com.

You can expect to earn £500+ per day per shoot.  This is not a regular income, so I have assumed only four days of photo-shoots a year.  This would deliver earnings of £2,000.

INCOME POTENTIAL = £2,000

Car wrappings
Car wrapping companies such as Money4Space operate by matching up businesses that are seeking to advertise with drivers that are happy to display their ads. Once matched up, the car wrapping company will arrange to apply the ad to your car. You will be paid for each month that you display the ad.

This one is not for everyone!  Most of us don't want to turn our cars into mobile advertising hoardings. Obviously, if you have already sold your car this option will not be available to you.

You can earn around £1500 a year for displaying an ad that covers the whole of your car. Your earnings will reduce to around £900 a year for an ad displayed on the sides of your car.  If you only want the rear screen of your car to be covered, expect your earnings to drop to around £250 for a year's ad campaign.

For the purposed of this post I have included the £900 a year option.

INCOME POTENTIAL = £900

Summary

'Easy Win' Measures	Income / Savings
Make money from your outdoor space	£750
Rent your shed, your garage or a spare room for storage space	£1,200
Reduce your water bills by fitting a water meter	£100
Reduce you Heating Bills	£310
Replace your old boiler	£490
Generate your own heating or power	£500
Total	£3,350

‘Not So Easy Win’ Measures	Income / Savings
Starting a B&B or “homtel"	£750
Grow your own food	£600
Renting your home for a photo shoot or TV shoot	£2,000
Car wrappings	£900
Total	£4,250

Grand Total

£7,600

The final tally
Implementing all of the above options would generate sources of income and savings worth £7,600.

By using your Tax Free Personal Allowance you would not pay Tax on any of this income (assuming that you have no other sources of income).

House-Saver's View
I have presented a number of money making and money saving ideas to show how lucrative your home can be.

The internet is creating ever more opportunities to make money from your home and also from the possessions in your home. There are even specialist websites that enable you to rent out you lawnmower or power tools.

I would love to hear your ideas for making money from your home.

David
www.house-saver.co.uk

One of the most frequently asked questions about solar panels has been answered

A common solar panel query is whether the panels are effective in winter months - when the days are shorter and the sun is lower in the sky.

I happened upon a very useful post at the TheGreenAge website on this subject.

The answer?  Yes, solar panels (both solar PV and solar thermal) will continue to produce energy, but they will not provide all your energy needs in winter.

No surprise there then.  So just how much energy will they provide in winter time? The typical domestic solar PV system will produce around 75kWh of power in a winter.  Whereas solar thermal will provide 25% your hot water needs in the winter months.

Check the TheGreenAge blog post in full at "How Effective is Solar in Winter?"

A useful tip from the Energy Saving Trust website is that a wood burning stove with back boiler and solar thermal are a good combination as the stove can heat your home and provide hot water in winter and the solar can heat your hot water in the summer when no central heating is required.

Check out the House-Saver website for more information on the benefits of solar panels and wood burners.

David
www.house-saver.co.uk

Relaxed planning rules are supporting home businesses

Relaxed planning rules mean that it has never been easier to extend or adapt your home to accommodate a home business.

A recent Government report suggests that:

"New figures show planning reform and cut red tape have enabled thousands of homeowners to make improvements."

Recently published figures show how efforts to cut red tape in the Planning System have enabled thousands of householders in England to make improvements to their homes.

Since last year, new "permitted development" rights have given households more power to extend their homes without having to apply for planning permission.

The Government figures show that in the 3 months to June, Local Authorities across England received 7,700 applications for home extensions – 6,500 of which got the go-ahead without needing to go through the formal planning application process (submitting a formal planning application is an 8 week process that incurs a £172 fee).

These country-wide figures mask a contrast in activity across different local authorities.  The London Boroughs have generated the most activity as shown in the Table below. Meanwhile, a number of authorities elsewhere in England have received no applications under the new "Larger householder extensions" scheme.

Table showing Councils that have received more than 100 applications for prior approval under the "Larger householder extensions" scheme in the period April to June 2014

                                           

Local Authority                                              Number of applications

Hounslow	188
Hillingdon	184
Birmingham	174
Brent	165
Redbridge	150
Ealing	138
Barnet	127
Harrow	118

The Full Table is provided at the end of this post.

The new figures also provide good news for home improvement proposals that still require planning permission.  The Government's figures show that planning application approvals are at a 10-year high, with authorities granting 350,200 permissions in the year to June – 2% higher than in the previous year.  91% of householder planning applications are now being granted by local Councils.

Further Information

For advice on whether you require planning permission to work from home check out www.house-saver/home-business

For further information on the above planning application statistics check out the www.gov.uk website.

Table of decisions by Councils on applications for prior approvals under the "Larger householder extensions" scheme in the period April to June 2014                                        

Planning authority	Larger householder extensions
	Prior approval not required	Granted	Refused
Adur	14	1	0
Allerdale	18	0	0
Amber Valley	6	0	0
Arun	14	1	0
Ashfield	17	17	0
Ashford (1)	..	..	..
Aylesbury Vale	17	0	7
Babergh	0	12	1
Barking and Dagenham	60	3	6
Barnet	127	18	38
Barnsley	18	1	0
Barrow-in-Furness	6	0	0
Basildon	22	3	4
Basingstoke and Deane	20	0	0
Bassetlaw	6	0	2
Bath and North East Somerset UA	13	0	4
Bedford UA	18	0	1
Bexley	22	3	7
Birmingham	174	8	11
Blaby	5	3	0
Blackburn with Darwen UA	11	1	1
Blackpool UA	13	0	0
Bolsover	7	0	1
Bolton	0	18	4
Boston	3	0	0
Bournemouth UA	19	3	0
Bracknell Forest UA	3	1	0
Bradford	64	0	16
Braintree	18	2	0
Breckland	4	0	0
Brent	165	3	24
Brentwood	11	1	1
Brighton and Hove UA	39	4	5
Bristol, City of UA	33	5	12
Broadland	17	0	0
Broads Authority	0	0	0
Bromley	54	3	29
Bromsgrove	0	0	1
Broxbourne	13	2	0
Broxtowe	0	0	0
Burnley	8	0	0
Bury	8	0	8
Calderdale	18	1	1
Cambridge	7	6	2
Camden	3	0	1
Cannock Chase	7	0	2
Canterbury	9	8	4
Carlisle	12	12	0
Castle Point	7	0	1
Central Bedfordshire UA	32	3	3
Charnwood	18	0	0
Chelmsford	28	1	2
Cheltenham	0	0	0
Cherwell	10	2	1
Cheshire East UA	39	2	2
Cheshire West and Chester UA	24	0	4
Chesterfield	13	12	1
Chichester	0	0	0
Chiltern	7	1	7
Chorley	0	14	3
Christchurch	4	1	0
City of London	0	0	0
Colchester (1)	23	1	1
Copeland	11	0	0
Corby	0	1	0
Cornwall UA	10	2	3
Cotswold	1	0	0
County Durham UA	37	4	0
Coventry	30	3	8
Craven	5	0	0
Crawley	7	0	1
Croydon	0	63	24
Dacorum (1)	11	0	6
Darlington UA	9	2	0
Dartford	12	0	5
Dartmoor National Park	0	0	0
Daventry	7	0	0
Derby UA	24	1	2
Derbyshire Dales	5	0	0
Doncaster	30	1	0
Dover	12	0	2
Dudley	31	1	8
Ealing	138	22	51
East Cambridgeshire	3	2	0
East Devon	0	0	0
East Dorset	0	13	0
East Hampshire	4	0	0
East Hertfordshire	8	0	5
East Lindsey	4	0	0
East Northamptonshire	0	0	0
East Riding of Yorkshire UA	1	36	2
East Staffordshire	8	1	0
Eastbourne	4	0	1
Eastleigh	13	0	0
Eden	3	0	0
Elmbridge	15	2	9
Enfield	87	5	21
Epping Forest	23	3	4
Epsom and Ewell	17	1	7
Erewash	12	0	0
Exeter	11	0	0
Exmoor National Park	0	0	0
Fareham	16	3	1
Fenland	6	0	0
Forest Heath	4	0	0
Forest of Dean	0	7	0
Fylde	8	0	0
Gateshead	10	1	1
Gedling	11	0	0
Gloucester	12	11	1
Gosport	17	0	0
Gravesham	8	0	0
Great Yarmouth	0	10	0
Greenwich	0	3	5
Guildford	12	1	10
Hackney	8	6	0
Halton UA	6	0	1
Hambleton	5	0	0
Hammersmith and Fulham	7	4	2
Harborough	5	1	0
Haringey	22	0	11
Harlow	0	0	0
Harrogate	13	0	3
Harrow	118	14	45
Hart	3	0	2
Hartlepool UA	4	1	0
Hastings	0	1	0
Havant	0	0	0
Havering	55	7	11
Herefordshire, County of UA	4	0	0
Hertsmere	0	0	0
High Peak	9	0	1
Hillingdon	184	9	74
Hinckley and Bosworth	11	1	1
Horsham	12	3	2
Hounslow	188	124	64
Huntingdonshire	0	8	0
Hyndburn	6	0	1
Ipswich	0	20	0
Isle of Wight UA	4	0	1
Isles of Scilly	0	0	0
Islington	1	4	5
Kensington and Chelsea	1	0	0
Kettering	3	1	0
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	6	0	3
Kingston upon Hull, City of UA	13	0	0
Kingston upon Thames	44	5	51
Kirklees	29	9	8
Knowsley	12	0	0
Lake District National Park	0	0	0
Lambeth	21	25	2
Lancaster	7	0	0
Leeds	65	1	3
Leicester UA	28	0	11
Lewes	0	10	1
Lewisham	41	41	10
Lichfield	15	1	0
Lincoln	6	2	0
Liverpool	7	0	1
London Legacy Development Corporation	0	0	0
Luton UA	59	7	5
Maidstone	20	1	2
Maldon	2	0	0
Malvern Hills	4	0	0
Manchester	18	8	8
Mansfield	6	1	0
Medway UA	0	20	2
Melton	0	1	0
Mendip	1	0	0
Merton	75	8	17
Mid Devon	0	6	1
Mid Suffolk	14	1	1
Mid Sussex	11	4	1
Middlesbrough UA	14	0	0
Milton Keynes UA	19	1	1
Mole Valley	18	1	1
New Forest	0	10	7
New Forest National Park	0	0	0
Newark and Sherwood	8	1	3
Newcastle upon Tyne	8	2	3
Newcastle-under-Lyme	7	0	0
Newham	42	0	13
North Devon	2	2	0
North Dorset	3	0	0
North East Derbyshire	17	0	0
North East Lincolnshire UA	6	7	2
North Hertfordshire	12	0	1
North Kesteven	1	1	0
North Lincolnshire UA	10	0	0
North Norfolk	0	7	0
North Somerset UA	14	0	2
North Tyneside	8	0	0
North Warwickshire	2	0	0
North West Leicestershire	14	14	0
North Yorks Moors	0	0	0
Northampton	13	1	1
Northumberland UA	27	2	0
Northumberland UA	0	0	0
Norwich	7	1	0
Nottingham UA	16	0	1
Nuneaton and Bedworth	9	7	2
Oadby and Wigston	8	7	1
Oldham	5	6	2
Oxford	25	0	6
Peak District National Park	0	0	0
Pendle	11	1	0
Peterborough UA	14	2	1
Plymouth UA	8	0	1
Poole UA	13	1	0
Portsmouth UA	20	0	0
Preston	18	1	2
Purbeck	0	0	0
Reading UA	11	0	4
Redbridge	150	72	85
Redcar & Cleveland	12	1	1
Redditch	7	0	0
Reigate and Banstead	18	4	4
Ribble Valley	2	1	3
Richmond upon Thames	23	30	9
Richmondshire	3	0	0
Rochdale	15	0	0
Rochford	14	1	0
Rossendale	3	3	0
Rother	2	1	0
Rotherham	15	0	3
Rugby	12	1	0
Runnymede	16	0	11
Rushcliffe	19	2	0
Rushmoor	2	0	0
Rutland UA	0	2	1
Ryedale	0	8	2
Salford	0	11	2
Sandwell	41	2	2
Scarborough	8	1	1
Sedgemoor	9	0	0
Sefton	22	0	2
Selby	11	2	3
Sevenoaks	9	2	1
Sheffield	23	2	3
Shepway	10	0	0
Shropshire UA	15	0	1
Slough UA	62	6	9
Solihull	27	2	0
South Bucks	16	2	2
South Cambridgeshire	8	5	0
South Derbyshire	8	0	0
South Downs National Park	0	0	0
South Gloucestershire UA	30	0	0
South Hams	2	1	1
South Holland	2	1	0
South Kesteven	8	0	0
South Lakeland	7	0	0
South Norfolk	6	5	0
South Northamptonshire	11	0	0
South Oxfordshire	1	0	0
South Ribble	16	0	0
South Somerset	9	1	0
South Staffordshire	6	2	0
South Tyneside	14	1	0
Southampton UA	12	9	3
Southend-on-Sea UA	4	14	8
Southwark	7	2	0
Spelthorne	2	16	6
St Albans	24	3	10
St Edmundsbury	9	0	1
St. Helens	20	0	0
Stafford	10	0	1
Staffordshire Moorlands	2	2	0
Stevenage	6	2	1
Stockport	4	27	0
Stockton-on-Tees UA	16	16	0
Stoke-on-Trent UA	13	12	1
Stratford-on-Avon	8	0	1
Stroud	0	8	1
Suffolk Coastal	16	0	0
Sunderland	22	0	0
Surrey Heath	13	0	3
Sutton	88	6	28
Swale	0	0	0
Swindon UA	23	0	0
Tameside	11	2	0
Tamworth	12	0	0
Tandridge	19	1	1
Taunton Deane	11	1	0
Teignbridge	4	2	1
Telford and Wrekin UA	3	5	1
Tendring	12	12	0
Test Valley	7	1	2
Tewkesbury	0	7	1
Thanet	23	2	0
Three Rivers	18	5	2
Thurrock UA	37	0	2
Tonbridge and Malling	6	0	1
Torbay UA	5	0	0
Torridge	0	1	0
Tower Hamlets	6	0	1
Trafford	20	2	3
Tunbridge Wells	11	0	2
Uttlesford	9	2	2
Vale of White Horse	0	1	0
Wakefield	30	1	0
Walsall	27	1	6
Waltham Forest	80	0	35
Wandsworth	31	5	10
Warrington UA	12	1	4
Warwick	18	0	4
Watford	21	2	7
Waveney	6	6	0
Waverley	8	1	6
Wealden	12	0	1
Wellingborough	2	0	0
Welwyn Hatfield	16	13	3
West Berkshire UA	0	1	2
West Dorset	6	0	0
West Edevon	0	0	0
West Lancashire	7	0	3
West Lindsey	4	1	0
West Oxfordshire	4	0	0
West Somerset	0	0	0
Westminster	1	1	1
Weymouth and Portland	1	0	0
Wigan	33	3	0
Wiltshire UA	4	8	0
Winchester	10	0	0
Windsor and Maidenhead UA	16	0	2
Wirral	33	4	0
Woking	3	2	0
Wokingham UA	18	0	0
Wolverhampton	21	1	1
Worcester	0	7	0
Worthing	16	2	1
Wychavon	0	8	0
Wycombe	11	2	9
Wyre	12	2	0
Wyre Forest	0	12	1
York UA	0	33	5
Yorkshire Dales National Park	0	0	0
England (1)	5 278	1 256	1 130
.. = figure not provided
(1) Estimates have not been made for questions where the planning authority has not provided a figure
Source: PS1 returns to DCLG

David

www.house-saver.co.uk